Trench roller



R. c. FlNK, SR TRENCH ROLLER June k29, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 4, 1950 /fv VENTO ROBERT @.FINK SR.

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R. C. FlNK, SR

TRENCH ROLLER June 29, 1954 2 sheets-Sheet 2 Filed DeG. 4, 1950 /NVE/vv-oe; ROBERT C. FNK SR. BY

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. VI r. l. l .1.... lllrlllllllllzlll Patented June 29A, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEl TRENCH ROLLER Robert C. Fink, Sr., Galion, Ohio, assignor to The Galion Iron Works & Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Ohio Application December 4, 1950, Serial No. 199,076

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a trench roller, and an object of the invention is to provide an improved trench roller in which there is a heavy roller adapted to roll in a trench adjacent a road surface, particularly a hard road surface, and in which there are two other wheels, one forward, the other rearward, which are adapted to roll on the road surface, the improvement residing particularly in the provision of mechanism for simultaneously raising and lowering said two wheels, preferably in like amounts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trench roller in which there is a steering wheel for steering the roller, which is mounted for up and down or Vertical adjustment and is provided with parallel motion mechanism to maintain the upright or upwardly extending steering pivot axis in its upright position during vertical adjustment of said steering wheel.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, showing a trench roller incorporating features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the roller, with parts broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the l arrows.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention there is a main frame I D which is built up of various structural members, including channels, angles and the like, all welded together to provide a strong frame structure. Extending transversely of said main frame I and near the front thereof there is a rock shaft II which is journaled to the frame in appropriate bearings carried by brackets, one of which is seen at I2, it being understood that there will be at least two of these bearings and brackets supporting the rock shaft II, one adjacent each side of the main frame I0.

At one end of the rock shaft II there is a heavy roller I3 which is adapted to roll in a trench formed alongside a road surface, such as a hard road surface, so as to compact material during the operation of widening a hard surface road. In a typical operation a trench will be formed having a width from ten inches to three or four feet and this trench will be filled with crushed stone or the like which will be rolled by the trench roller, the heavy roller I3 working directly on the crushed stone. The final surface 2 of the widened strip of the road may be crushed` stone with some kind of a binder, frequently a bituminous binder. This is frequently called black-top and it too will be rolled by the heavy roll I3.

As illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings the heavy roll I3 is mounted in something of a recessv formed in the main frame I0, and forward and rearward spring pressed roller Scrapers I4 are provided to scrape the roll I3 of any material which may tend to adhere to it.

The heavy roll I3 is preferably power driven by a motor I5, such as an internal combustion engine, which is carried on the frame I 0 and connected to the heavy roller I3 by any form of gearing preferably including a reversible transmission and clutch gearing I6 and a final drive spur gear Il meshing with a ring gear I8, the ring gear I8 being rigidly attached to the heavy' roller I3.

The main frame I0 carries an operators seat I9, adjacent which are adequate control levers, including a brake pedal 2i), a steering lever 2l, a reversing lever 22, and a leveling cylinder control lever 45.

At the end of the rock shaft II opposite from that upon which the roller I3 is mounted there is a crank arm 23, upon the free end of which al supporting wheel 2t is mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis. It is obvious that by rocking the transversely generally horizontal rock shaft II the supporting wheel 24 and its horizontal axis may be raised and lowered as the wheel swings through the arc of a circle. Up and down adjustment of the wheel 24 is effected by means of a double acting hydraulic leveling cylinder or piston motor 25, the cylinder of which is pivotally attached to a bracket 26 carried by a cross member of the main frame I Il, and the free end of the piston rod of which is pivotally attached to a crank arm 2'l which is rigidly attached t0 the rock shaft II.

It is to be noted that both the heavy roller I3 and the supporting wheel 215 are adjacent the front or one end of the main frame Ill, they being on opposite sides thereof. Thus these two wheels support said front end. The rear end of the main frame I 0 is supported by what is in effect a single wheel 28, a dual type of wheel being illustrated, it being understood, however, that this dual wheel is considered as a single wheel.

As clearly illustrated in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, the rear single dual type wheel 28 isl mounted on a supporting bracket 29, which bracket 29 is journaled for steering adjustment or.

movement of the whee1 28 about an upright axis. Bracket 29 is j ournaled in a bearing box 30 mounted on an upright play 3|. Said bracket 29 carries a crank arm 32 which is operated by a double acting hydraulic cylinder or piston motor 33, the piston rod of which is pivotally attached to the free or outer end of the crank arm 32, and the cylinder of which is pivotally attached to a post carried by the plate 3|. Motor 33 is controlled by lever 2| in a manner well known in the art, which may include a valve controlled by lever 2| and be similar to the system of Patent No. 2,247,464, dated July 1, 1941, or Patent No. 2,195,607, dated April 20, 1940.

To provide for vertical or up and down adjustment of the steering wheel 28, while maintaining the steering axis thereof substantially vertical or upright, the plate 3|, and as a consequence the bracket 29, is connected to the main frame through a parallel motion mechanism, generally designated 34. The parallel motion mechanism 34 includes a pair of laterally spaced upper links 35 which are rigidly connected together by a cross plate 36 and at their outer ends are pivotally connected to brackets 3'| rigid with the plate 3|, and at their inner ends are pivotally connected to a bracket 38 which is rigidly attached to and forms a part of the rear end of the main frame |0.

Directly below the links 35 is a pair of equal length links 39. Links 39 are pivotally connected at their outer ends to brackets 40 carried by the plate 3| directly below the brackets 31. The inner ends of the links 39 are pivotally connected to brackets 4| (see particularly Fig. 3) which are rigidly attached to the bracket 38 as well as also being directly attached to channel members of the main frame |0, as best illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The parallel motion mechanism 34 includes a crank arm in the form of a plate 42, the upper end of which is welded or otherwise rigidly attached to the plate 36. The lower or free end of the crank arrn 42 is connected by an elongated generally horizontal adjustable link 43 to a crank arm 44 which is rigidly attached to the rock shaft It is evident that opposite ends of the link 43 are pivotally attached to the crank arms 4| and 44, respectively.

It is thus evident that the front wheel 24 and the back wheel 28 are mechanically interconnected, thus requiring their simultaneous upward and downward movement. The linkages interconnecting them are preferably so proportioned that they are adjusted equal amounts when raised and lowered by the common operating piston motor 25. For example, if the piston motor 25 is contracted, rock shaft will be swung counter-clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1, which will swing the crank arm 23 counter-clockwise in a generally upright plane, thus raising the horizontal axis about which the wheel 24 rotates and thus raising said Wheel 24. This rocking of the shaft will be transmitted to move the link 43 rearwardly through the counterclockwise swinging movement of the crank arm 44 which will produce a clockwise rotation of the crank arm 42 in a generally upright plane, thus swinging the parallel motion mechanism in a clockwise direction, thus moving the rear wheel 28 upwardly. As a consequence it is possible to maintain the main frame l0 and the rock shaft in a generally horizontal position transversely of said main frame I0, while the heavy roller I3 runs in a ditch of varying depth or when said heavy roller I3 is supported on the road surface; for example, during self-transportation oi.' the unit from one place to another.

In addition, the provision for adjustment oi.' both of the wheels 24 and 28, which are on the same side of the main frame I0 and on the hard road surface and out of the trench, eliminates any objectionable tilting of the main frame |0 about a transverse axis as the unit is adjusted to maintain the rock shaft horizontal.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and applicant therefore wishes not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of the invention, what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A trench roller including a frame. a heavy roller at one side and adjacent one end of said frame mounted to roll on a transverse normally horizontal axis xed relative to said frame, power means carried by said frame for driving said heavy roller, a pair of supporting wheels for said frame positioned to run one ahead of the other on a road surface while the heavy roller rolls in a trench adjacent said road surface, one wheel of said pair being positioned on the opposite side of said frame and substantially opposite said heavy roller and the other being adjacent the other end of said frame, means for steering said other wheel, means for vertically adjusting said pair of wheels simultaneously whereby their axes of rotation are raised and lowered together, said adjusting means including a crank arm supporting the one wheel and parallelogram mechanism supporting the other wheel, linkage mechanism including an elongated generally horizontal link interconnecting said crank arm and said parallelogram mechanism for adjusting said wheels as aforesaid, and hydraulic motor means for operating said linkage mechanism.

2. A trench roller including a frame, a heavy roller at one side of said frame mounted to roll on a transverse normally horizontal axis xed relative to said frame, a pair of supporting wheels for said frame positioned to run one ahead of the other on a road surface while the heavy roller rolls in a trench adjacent said road surface, one of said wheels being steerable, said wheels being positioned one adjacent each end of said frame and adjacent the side thereof opposite said heavy roller, means for vertically adjusting said pair of wheels simultaneously whereby their axes of rotation are raised and lowered together, said adjusting means including a crank arm supporting one of said wheels and parallelogram mechanism supporting the other and steerable wheel, linkage mechanism including an elongated generally horizontal link interconnecting said crank arm and said parallelogram mechanism for adjusting said wheels as aforesaid, and means for operating said linkage mechanism.

3. A trench roller including a frame, a heavy roller at one side and adjacent one end of said frame mounted to roll on a transverse normally horizontal axis, motor means for driving said heavy roller, a pair of supporting wheels for said frame positioned to run one ahead of the other on a road surface while the heavy roller rolls in a trench adjacent said road surface, one wheel of said pair being positioned on the opposite side of said frame and substantially opposite said heavy roller and the other being adjacent the other end of said frame, means mounting said other wheel for steering adjustment, means for adjusting said pair of wheels simultaneously whereby they are raised and lowered together, said adjusting means including a pair of crank arms each swingable in a generally upright plane, one operating to raise and lower said one wheel, the other operating to raise and lower said other wheel, means including an elongated link eX- tending from one end-of said frame to the other and interconnecting said crank arms, andpower means for operating said adjusting means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Stock Apr. 2, 1912 Keeler June 7, 1927 I-Iaigh June 16, 1936 Cost May 3, 1938 Keeler Apr. 16, 1940 Ford Feb. 11, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany of 1921 Great Britain Sept. 6, 1938 Germany Jan. 4, 1934 

